Piano-action.



a. A. MAYOR,

PIANO ACTION.

1 APPLICATION IILEIJ SEPT. 7, 1911.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

ill-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ENOCI-I A. MAYOR, OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.

PIANO-ACTION.

Application filed September 7, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ENoorr MAYOR, citizen of the United States, residingat San Antonio, in the county of BeXa-r and State of Texas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano-Actions, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to piano act1ons, and particularly to that part ofthe action which controls the rebound of the hammer and includingordinarily the back stop, back check, bridle strap and the supportingmem bers therefor.

The primary object of my invention is to simplify this part of thepiano, reduce the number of parts involved therein, and somewhatincrease the available space within the piano case so that othermechanisms may be placed within this space, as in piano playermechanism, and not incommode the piano action itself.

A further object is to eliminate the bridle strap and the supportingwire therefor. This is ordinarily found in standard upright pianoactions and is the means whereby the hammer is retracted. The bridlestrap is frequently injured or destroyed by mice, and when so destroyed,the hammer fails to work properly, especially when the instrument isexposed to dampness. By eliminating the bridle strap and providing apositive means for retracting the hammer, I make the action morecertain, reduce the cost of manufacture, and eliminate all chance of theinjury above referred to.

Broadly speaking, my invention consists in substituting for the bridlestrap and the bridle wire, a hook mounted upon the back check andengaging the back stop so that as the wippen falls upon the release of akey, the hook will engage the back stop and retract the hammer.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a portion of an upright piano action,the hammer being in its normal or retracted position. Fig. 2 is a likeview to Fig. 1 but showing the parts in the position occupied by themafter the hammer is struck and before it is retracted. Fig. 3 is adetail perspective view of the back stop engaging member detached fromthe back check.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

Serial No. 648,231.

in all the views of the accompanying drawings by the same referencecharacters.

In these drawings, 2 designates the action rail and 3 the wippenpivotally mounted upon the action rail by means of the wippen flange 4-.5 designates the hammer-butt pivotally mounted upon the action rail bymeans of the flange 6, and 7 designates the jack which is pivotallycarried upon the wippen 3 by means of the flange 8. 9 designates theknockoff or regulating button disposed upon the regulating rail 10. Thehammer 5 carries the hammer shank 11 which at its end supports thehammer 12;

This hammer normally bears against the hammer rest rail 13. These partsso far described are those ordinarily to be found in ordinary uprightpiano act-ions and require no further description.

Projecting from the front face of the butt 5 is the shank 14 carryingupon its end the back stop 15. This back stop is somewhat longer thanthe back stop ordinarily found in standard piano actions and is roundedor beveled at its upper end and there provided with the felt facing 16.It will be particularly noted from the drawings that the back stop beingsomewhat longer than the ordinary back stop projects above the shank 14;and above the back check 18 under all circumstances. Supported upon thewippen 8 is the upwardly projecting back check wire 17 carrying at itsupper end the ordinary back check 18 whose inner face is faced with felt19. The outer face of the stop is also faced with leather 20.

Supported upon the upper end of the back check 18 and extending inwardtoward the hammer shank 11 and above the upper end of the stop 15 is thearcuate, upwardly bowed or hook-shaped member 21. Preferably this memberis of wire or like material, and at one end is angularly bent as at 22to form a shank which is forced into the wood of the back check 18.

It will be noted from Fig. 1 that the arouate portion of the hook 21 isuniformly curved and that the starting point of the upwardly bowedportion is disposed coincidentally with the inner face of the upper endof the felt 19. The inner end of the bowed portion of the member 21 isflattened and depends somewhat below the upper end of the back check andis then upwardly turned as at 23.

Normally or when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, themember 21 is spaced from the upper end of the back stop 15 and isapproximately concentric to the curvature of the felt 16.

In the operation of my device, when the piano key is struck, the wippenis carried upward, the wippen turning upon the pivot pin of the flange4c. The upward movement of the wippen carries the back check 18 forwardand slightly upward and of course carries the member 21 with it, leavingthe hammer free to be projected against the strings of the instrument.As the wippen falls with the release of the key, the back check iscarried downward and away from the hammer, and the hook-shaped member 21is also carried downward and forward and will in its movement if thehammer is retarded engage the back stop 15 and retract the hammer,causing it to return to its position against the hammer rail 13.

It will be seen that my device is extremely simple, that it isthoroughly positive in its action, and that it is not liable to bedestroyed as is the ordinary bridle strap. Furthermore, it will be seenthat by eliminating the usual bridle wire, the length of the wippen maybe reduced, thus leaving more space in front of the action for theaccommodation of piano player actions.

Under ordinary circumstances, the wire is spaced along its whole lengthfrom the back stop 15 and only contacts with this back stop where thehammer action is sluggish, due for instance to dampness. There thehammer fails to fall back, the extremity of the wire engages the innerface of the upper end of the stop and positively draws the hammer back.lVith my invention there is no necessity of having a spring forretracting the hammer, though of course the spring may be used. It willbe noted that the whole weight of the wippen, back check and attachedparts act to draw the hammer back. It is to be pointed out also that themember 21 does not bear at all upon the back stop except where thehammer is sluggish, and then only upon a retraction of the hammer. Thehook 21 does not touch the hammer at all upon a raising of the hammerdue to a depression of the key. The hook moves in advance of the backstop and thus the device has no eifect upon the touch. It will be seenalso that with the construction described, the wippen and its attachedparts will not drop down when the key is removed, as they would if thehook of my device were placed, say upon the back stop and not upon theback check and no bridle tape were used.

What I claim is:

1. An upright piano action including a hammer, a back stop, a back checkopposed to the back stop and a hammer-retracting member having astraight shank entering the upper end of the back check, and a bowedportion extending upward and over the upper end of the back stop andthen extending downward below the upper end of the back stop.

2. An upright piano action including a wippen, a hammer-butt, a backstop carried by the hammer-butt, a back check carried by the wippen, anda hammer-retracting member comprising a wire bent to form a shankextending downward into the back check, the wire at the upper end of theshank being curved upward, inward toward the hammer-butt and downward toa point below the upper end of the back stop, the shank of saidretracting member being rotatably supported in the back check.

3. An upright piano action including a wippen, a hammer-butt, a shankprojecting from the hammer-butt, a back stop carried on the end of theshank and having a rounded upper end projecting above the shank, and aback check carried by the wippen and opposed to the stop in combinationwith a hammer-retracting member comprising an upwardly bowed rigid wirehaving a shank extending into the upper end of the back check androtatable therein, the body of the wire extending inward toward thehammerbutt and over the upper rounded end of the back stop and normallyspaced therefrom, the inner end of the curved portion of the wire beingextended downward below the upper end of the back stop.

In testimony whereof I my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ENOCH A. MAYOR. [Ls] l/Vitnesses:

G. OLIVARI, MAUI) B. MORGAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0.

